I won’t attempt to compile a basic set of tips that are essential for clicking good photographs. Several reviews that have been posted here have focused on those and have done exceedingly well. Several basic tips like the rule of thirds and picture composition also figure in the gallery section of my website at <A href=’https://balagi.tk’>https://balagi.tk</A>.
I will try to attempt to uncover some scenarios that we may come across while on a photography session or in our daily lives that could benefit with some applied thinking. All these apply to film cameras in general and SLRs in particular. My use of digital is normally restricted to taking pictures of items that I sell on eBay. So, I have to admit that I am biased against digital owing to my limited budget which forbids any investment in the digital SLR segment.
Five Common Scenarios:
Scenario # 1. Shooting People.
Type of Picture desired: A Portrait
Desired Equipment: Usually a short telephoto lens in the 70-120 mm range to capture close shots without being uncomfortably close to the subject. A light reflector helps at times, but is not necessary.
When it comes to portraits of people, it helps playing the director for a while. Don’t fall shy of asking the subject to make adjustments, most people would rather have better pictures of themselves. While studying the conditions like light and background, it helps to keep the subject involved in a casual conversation.
The more the subject feels comfortable, the more adjustments he or she would be willing to make. Decide on what depth is desired in the portrait, which is usually shallow in the f-8 range. You don’t want the background to be in clear focus. It also helps to include some props that the subject can be associated with, for instance a girl with a rose or a kid with a balloon. Try to be innovative when it comes to composing, include a reflection, a shadow.
If you are shooting outdoors, it is tough to carry a reflector. Alternatives like a white sheet of paper or some thermocol can help in lighting up the subject. Fill in flash can be used deftly to cover up the shadows below the eyes of the subject. If you are shooting indoors, avoid direct flash in portraits. It makes the subject unusually bright and a quite a bit of character is lost. If absolutely essential use a diffused form of light, the effect is usually wonderful.
Scenario # 2. Preserving Landscapes
Type of Picture desired: Panoramic views
Desired Equipment: A 24-80mm & 70-200mm zoom. Use fixed lens if possible. A tripod is critical. Filters can help, though I don’t use them often.
Landscapes can be pretty challenging, but offer a lot of time to the photographer to compose and choose his shots. It is always tempting to shoot at everything in the frame, but is advisable to choose and discard parts from the view. The sun can be your best friend or the worst enemy when shooting outdoors. Go by the old rule that suggests that the best pictures are often taken at dawn or dusk because the shadows are long and pictures end up with a lot of character. A lens hood prevents light flares from appearing in the pictures and is not an option really.
Landscapes usually require a large depth of field, which has to be kept in mind. Many cameras today come with a depth of field preview option. Use it. Trust me it helps to get a better idea. If you have a consumer grade telephoto lens that goes all the way up to 300mm, don’t use the higher end of the zoom. The picture quality is adversely affected. I have tried it on my 70-300mm Sigma, and always keep that in mind after going through the results. It always helps to maintain a level gradient in landscape pictures.
My Nikon N80 has a grid in the viewfinder, which is pretty useful. It is also crucial to compose well and avoid distractions like a telephone pole or electric cables, which stand out in the final print. Apart from these, it really helps if you carry a tripod at all times, pictures are definitely sharper than those shot while holding the camera. A fast shutter speed helps in freezing the scene and low shutter speeds provide some good effects for objects like a waterfall. Some advocate the use of a cable release while using low speeds, but I haven’t really used any, so I can’t comment on the difference.
Scenario # 3. After Dark
Type of Picture desired: Special Effects, Non Flash Pictures.
Desired Equipment: A Tripod, Cable Release, A fast film (ISO400+), Flash.
Light offers the highest level of challenge and its scarcity can confuse the best of photographers. Shooting in low light can also provide best of opportunities to come up with those special effects that you see in magazines and photographic shows. Trails in city scapes, effects resulted from panning, etc can be difficult to achieve but are supremely satisfying to the photographer.
Camera shake is something that poses a challenge at all times since the use of high shutter speeds is definitely ruled out. A tripod is indispensable in such situations. It also helps to carry some high speed film in the range of ISO 400-800 , which provide more flexibility in shooting in low light conditions. In fact, it is also possible to push your ISO manually on the camera body to a higher number, and inform the lab to process at that setting.
Low light conditions are exciting to the brave, so don’t shy away from trying out new things. Try panning your camera on low shutter speeds and the results can be very interesting. I personally am paranoid about low light due to my limited experience, but have witnessed some great pictures shot in conditions where light was the least controllable parameter. (It almost always is :-) but you get the idea)
Scenario # 4. Getting Closer
Type of Picture Desired: Close-ups, Macro or Magnified.
Desired Equipment: A macro lens (1:2 is affordable, anything above 1:1 is too expensive for most enthusiasts)
In Macroland, the world appears to be much bigger and full of detail. Macro is an exciting way to go, to capture those beautiful flowers or insects or even other fine patterns in nature. Magnification is actually a misnomer, since no real magnification is achieved unless a macro lens above 1:1 is used, which is very expensive.
A 1:2 macro is used to obtain one half magnification, which means that the final image on the negative is approximately half of that in the real world. Many zoom lenses, for instance those made by Sigma come with a Macro option, which provide one-half magnification.
Correct and serious macro photography is way too complicated for an amateur like me with a limited budget. Important things to remember in macro or close up photography are the limitations in the use of light and a very shallow depth of field. Since the object is very close to the lens, playing with light can be very challenging. And since, the depth of field is very shallow, it has to be compensated by smaller apertures which further limit the light entering the lens.
Automatic focus is completely ruled out since most cameras cannot handle such precision. Since the size of the image is critical in close ups, the object is focused and then the camera body has to be manually moved to and fro. A tripod is usually essential while attempting to capture extreme close ups. All these raise the level of complexity in taking good macro pictures, but is well worth the extra effort.
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